Page 3

“What balance? I don’t have to pay again until Friday.”

“Yes, but you have been paying a few weeks behind every time.”

“No, Trey’s dad pays every other week. Are you guys recording that?”

“According to our files, we haven’t received a payment from him since last month. You are going on three weeks behind. Typically, we don’t allow anyone to go beyond two weeks, but I understand that you are a businesswoman just like I am. Be that as it may, we are going to have to start charging a late fee at this point. We’ve already ignored the late pickups.”

“I definitely understand. I know you have a business to run. Mrs. Martin, I had no idea he wasn’t paying. Can I bring it back later?”

“Absolutely, but keep in mind that you will need to put something on the balance by the end of the week to keep the boys enrolled.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, standing to leave her office.

After picking Trey up, I headed back to my food truck with my baby in my arms. I had a high chair set up that I could put him in for the last hour or so. When I walked in, Rhonda saw the look on my face and shook her head.

“Girl, what is it now?” Rhonda asked.

“Greg’s ass hasn’t been paying his part for Trey’s day care. That’s all I ask his black ass to do, and he can’t even do that.”

“I know you fucking lying.”

“I can’t stand him,” I grumbled as I scrolled back through my call log to his number.

He must have known that I was about to curse him out because he didn’t answer the phone. He wasn’t dodging this tongue lashing, so I called back two more times before he finally answered.

“Shiloh, what the fuck you want, blowing my phone up like that? You ain’t my bitch no more.”

“Bitch, why the hell haven’t you been paying for Trey’s day care. You barely do shit else for your son; the least you could do was give those people that little two hundred dollars a week. Every time I get on social media, you’re waving money but can’t do shit for your own son.”

“Girl, get off my line with that shit. I had stuff I had to take care of. Don’t nobody help me with my bills.”

“And you didn’t bother to mention it? You think you’re the only one with bills?”

“No, I don’t, but you’re the one that wanted to be an independent bitch that didn’t need a nigga. Ain’t that what you said? You left me. You don’t get to run my pockets when you get ready.”

“I know you’re playing right now. How is expecting you to chip in on your son’s day care running your pockets? When was the last time you bought a diaper or a fucking can of formula?”

“I thought you were breastfeeding,” he countered.

“That’s beside the point. You don’t do shit else for Trey. You can’t even be bothered to pick him up from day care on time, and you think it’s robbery for you to pay for your son’s day care. You see why I don’t want to be with your trifling ass?”

“All you do is fucking complain, girl. I don’t want to hear that shit early in the morning. I ain’t even up yet.”

“And I don’t want to hear that my sons are about to be kicked out of day care, but here we are. No wonder you don’t want to pick them up. I’m sure they already said something to you about the balance.”

“Girl, get the fuck off my phone with that shit,” he said, ending the call.

If it weren’t for the cars pulling up, I would have called his ass right back. I knew there was no use in going back and forth with a child. I might as well have been talking to my eight-year-old. Greg was unreliable as hell. Instead of having a screaming match with him, I proceeded to do what I had always done–figured it out myself.

2

Quinton

I held my breath as I tightened the spark plug on a customer’s engine. Once I was sure it was secure, I released the breath and backed up to finish checking things out. My favorite hip-hop and R&B station played in the background, providing the perfect soundtrack for a hard day’s work.

I didn’t mind the work. Cars were the one thing that I understood better than anything in the world. A lot of people felt like fixing cars was this complicated task, but it wasn’t. All you had to do was pay attention, and they would tell you exactly what was wrong.

Figuring out the problem was the hard part. Solving the issue was nothing. After too many years of running the streets, getting my hands dirty doing something I loved was a welcome change.